74- 
F3 


UC-NRLF 


$B    5M7    72M 


THE  PROBLEM  MiETHtM 
I N  GEOG R APJi  Y: :  R  j\j  j| 

BY 

HAROLD  W.  FAIRBANKS 


P.  BLAKISTON'S  SON  &  CO. 

PHILADELPHIA 


'i^iirbahlds:/:  :J 

: :  /.Topical  Outlines  of  Geography 

North  America Paper,  60c;  velumet  board,  75c 

South  America. Paper,  40c;  velumet  board,  55c 

Europe Paper,  60c;  velumet  board,  75o 

Asia. Paper,  40c;  velumet  board,  55c 

Africa,  Australia  and  the  Islands 

op  the  Pacific       Paper,  40c;  velumet  board,  55c 
North  America  and  South  America,  Combined        Cloth,  $1.50 

Velumet  board,  $1.15 
Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  Australia  and  the 

Islands  of  the  Pacific,  Combined  .  Cloth,  $1.75 

Velumet  board,  $1.55 


Copyright,  1922,  by  P.  Blakiston's  Son  &  Co. 


PRINTED  IN  U.  S.  A. 
HE  MAPLE  PRESS  YORK  PA 


THE  PROBLEM  METHOD  IN 
GEOGRAPHY 

The  chief  aim  of  the  Problem  Method  is  to  teach 
the  children  to  think  their  Geography  instead  of 
memorizing  it. 

From  time  immemorial  general  geography  has 
been  largely  descriptive  and  school  geography  has 
been  no  exception.  As  long  as  the  idea  persisted 
that  geography  was  essentially  a  description  of 
the  earth  and  man,  or  the  earth  as  the  home  of 
man,  so  long  was  it  impossible  that  children  should 
be  taught  to  acquire  their  geography  by  any  other 
means  than  the  memory.  But  little  by  little  our 
conceptions  of  geography  have  changed.  We  are 
now  coming  to  see  how  much  more  there  is  to  the 
subject  when  we  make  the  relation  between  facts 
rather  than  the  facts  themselves  the  object  of 
our  study.  We  now  study  the  earth  and  man  in 
their  relation  to  each  other. 

The  present  movement  in  school  geography  is 
toward  a  conception  so  different  from  that  which 
has  prevailed  that  few  teachers  yet  recognize  its 
far  reaching  consequences.  The  old  geography 
asked  "what  and  where  is  the  largest  city  in  the 

1 


491557 


United  Sta^e?.",;  JThe  coming  geography  asks 
"what  is '  tliefe*'  about  the  environment  of  New 
/York  y^icfrifr&sJmladeVit  the  largest  city  in  the 
United  'States.'" ' '  Fa'ctfs  when  studied  in  the  light 
of  their  relationship  have  far  more  value  for  us 
than  when  studied  for  their  own  intrinsic  worth  and 
constitute  far  better  geography. 

The  problem  method  is  simply  the  application 
to  school  geography  of  the  principle  involved  in  the 
little  word  why.  A  question  using  the  word  why 
is  the  simplest  form  of  a  problem.  This  point  of 
approach  calls  into  action  the  reasoning  powers 
of  the  children  rather  than  their  memories,  and  it 
results  in  their  discovering  a  higher  truth,  involving 
far  deeper  and  more  real  knowledge  than  the  mere 
memorizing  of  facts  can  ever  give. 

There  is  nothing  mysterious  about  the  problem 
method.  It  simply  attempts  to  lead  the  children 
to  think  rather  than  to  memorize,  and  in  so  doing 
opens  the  way  to  real  geographical  knowledge 
about  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants.  Two  ideas 
lie  at  the  foundation  of  the  problem  method  and 
we  must  understand  them  before  we  can  expect  to 
handle  it  successfully.  The  first  has  already  been 
mentioned  and  is  that  the  New  Geography  is  not 
a  description  of  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants.  It 
attempts  to  discover  the  significance  of  earth  facts 
in  their  relation  to  life  and  especially  human  life. 
The  New  Geography  views  the  earth  as  an  organ- 
ism with  functioning  parts.     The  meaning  of  each 

2 


of  these  parts  (facts)  lies  in  the  discovery  of  its 
relationship  to  the  other  parts  (facts) .  The  second 
idea  at  the  foundation  of  the  problem  method  is 
found  in  the  answer  to  the  why  which  must  be 
reasoned  out  by 'the  pupils  from  given  data;  the 
ability  to  reason  about  distant  and  unseen  lands 
being  dependent  upon  a  thorough  familiarity  with 
Home  Geography. 

We  speak  of  the  "  problem  method. "     Just  how 
are  we  to  go  about  reducing  the  complex  details 
of  the  broad  subject  of  geography  to  problem  form? 
Referring  again  to  the  example  before  mentioned 
we  say  "What  has  made  New  York  the  largest 
city  in  the   United   States"?     This  question   or 
problem  calls  up  many  facts  such  as  bays,  rivers, 
surface  of  the  land,  climate,  mountains,  valleys, 
canals,  railroads,  products,  etc.     To  answer  this 
problem   involves   investigation   and   thought   on 
the  part  of  the  pupils.     We  might  call  it  a  question 
but  the  sort  of  question  which  cannot  be  truly 
answered  by  memorizing  and  repeating  statements 
taken  from  some  book.     By  stating  the  fact  that 
New  York  is  the  largest  city  we  indicate  that  the 
fact  of  size  is  not  the  geographical  answer  sought, 
but  rather— what  are  the  causes  which  have  made 
it  such.     From  the  point  of  view  of  the  old  de- 
scriptive geography  the  pupils  would  be  asked  a 
question  about  the  largest  city  but  not  one  which 
involved  a  why  thought. 

The  thought  method,  exemplified  in  problem, 
3 


opens  up  wonderful  possibilities  for  the  expanding 
vision  of  the  child.  Geography  takes  on  a  new 
meaning  for  geography  is  no  longer  made  up  of 
cold,  dead  facts  but  becomes  a  thing  of  life. 

The  principle  which  is  revolutionizing  geography 
and  which  makes  the  use  of  the  problem  so  appro- 
priate is  that  of  cause  and  effect.     Things  do  not 
happen  fortuitously  but  in  every  case  an  event, 
fact  or  phenomena  has  its  cause.     The  discovery 
of  the  relation  between  them  makes  them  under- 
standable.    People  carry  on  farming  in  the  valleys 
and  mining  in  the  mountains  because  of  the  differ- 
ent conditions  existing  in  the  two  regions.     The 
United  States  imports  tropical  products  because 
its    climate    is    temperate.     The    United    States 
exports  wheat  because  the   soil  and   climate   are 
favorable  to  growing  more  than  the  country  needs. 
It  is  in  getting  at  the  relationship  between  facts — 
the  reasons  for  things  being  as  they  are  and  our 
doing  things  as  we  do — that  it  has  been  found 
convenient  to  develop  the  geography  lessons  in  the 
form  of  questions,  or  problems  as  they  are  now 
commonly    called.     Since    this    process    calls    for 
thought  on  the  part  of  the  pupils,  the  writer  has 
used  the  term  " thought  method"  and  "problem 
method"   interchangeably.     The  term   "project" 
has  come  into  use  for  certain  general  problems 
but  as  it  is  confusing  and  serves  no  real  purpose 
it  is  not  used  in  this  discussion. 

The  problem  method  is  really  very  simple  and 
4 


easy  to  handle  when  once  its  fundamental  basis  is 
understood.  That  it  must  be  understood  if  the 
teacher  would  use  it  is  the  reason  for  emphasizing 
it  from  different  points  of  view  in  the  present 
discussion.  The  acquirement  of  geographical 
knowledge  through  the  problem  or  thought  method 
is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  old  method  of 
learning  facts.  They  stand  for  two  entirely  dif- 
ferent conceptions  of  geography.  Many  writers 
on  the  New  Geography  fail  to  appreciate  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  problem  method  and  the  extent  to 
which  it  can  be  used  and  insist  that  the  committing 
to  memory  of  facts  must  still  be  required  for  the 
pupils.  Making  facts  the  aim  is  inconsistent  with 
the  basic  principles  of  the  New  Geography. 
According  to  it  facts  are  merely  bits  of  information 
and  to  stop  with  them  is  to  fail  of  attaining  real 
geographical  insight.  The  problem  method  has 
been  looked  upon  as  a  " frill"  valuable  in  adding 
to  the  attractiveness  of  the  subject  but  not  capable 
of  replacing  memory  drill  upon  " locations"  and 
other  facts  the  acquirement  of  which  has  been 
considered  an  indispensible  part  of  an  education. 
Many  teachers  still  insist  that  the  " fundamental 
facts  of  geography"  can  be  acquired  only  through 
memory  drill. 

According  to  the  old  geography  still  widely 
taught,  facts  are  the  chief  aim.  The  pupils'  minds 
are  crammed  with  locations,  boundaries,  products, 
etc.     Whether   these   have   any   real   meaning  is 

5 


opens  up  wonderful  possibilities  for  the  expanding 
vision  of  the  child.  Geography  takes  on  a  new 
meaning  for  geography  is  no  longer  made  up  of 
cold,  dead  facts  but  becomes  a  thing  of  life. 

The  principle  which  is  revolutionizing  geography 
and  which  makes  the  use  of  the  problem  so  appro- 
priate is  that  of  cause  and  effect.     Things  do  not 
happen  fortuitously  but  in  every  case  an  event, 
fact  or  phenomena  has  its  cause.     The  discovery 
of  the  relation  between  them  makes  them  under- 
standable.    People  carry  on  farming  in  the  valleys 
and  mining  in  the  mountains  because  of  the  differ- 
ent conditions  existing  in  the  two  regions.     The 
United  States  imports  tropical  products  because 
its    climate    is    temperate.     The    United    States 
exports  wheat  because  the   soil  and   climate   are 
favorable  to  growing  more  than  the  country  needs. 
It  is  in  getting  at  the  relationship  between  facts — 
the  reasons  for  things  being  as  they  are  and  our 
doing  things  as  we  do — that  it  has  been  found 
convenient  to  develop  the  geography  lessons  in  the 
form  of  questions,  or  problems  as  they  are  now 
commonly    called.     Since    this    process    calls    for 
thought  on  the  part  of  the  pupils,  the  writer  has 
used  the  term  " thought  method"  and  "problem 
method"   interchangeably.     The  term   "project" 
has  come  into  use  for  certain  general  problems 
but  as  it  is  confusing  and  serves  no  real  purpose 
it  is  not  used  in  this  discussion. 

The  problem  method  is  really  very  simple  and 
4 


easy  to  handle  when  once  its  fundamental  basis  is 
understood.  That  it  must  be  understood  if  the 
teacher  would  use  it  is  the  reason  for  emphasizing 
it  from  different  points  of  view  in  the  present 
discussion.  The  acquirement  of  geographical 
knowledge  through  the  problem  or  thought  method 
is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  old  method  of 
learning  facts.  They  stand  for  two  entirely  dif- 
ferent conceptions  of  geography.  Many  writers 
on  the  New  Geography  fail  to  appreciate  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  problem  method  and  the  extent  to 
which  it  can  be  used  and  insist  that  the  committing 
to  memory  of  facts  must  still  be  required  for  the 
pupils.  Making  facts  the  aim  is  inconsistent  with 
the  basic  principles  of  the  New  Geography. 
According  to  it  facts  are  merely  bits  of  information 
and  to  stop  with  them  is  to  fail  of  attaining  real 
geographical  insight.  The  problem  method  has 
been  looked  upon  as  a  " frill"  valuable  in  adding 
to  the  attractiveness  of  the  subject  but  not  capable 
of  replacing  memory  drill  upon  " locations"  and 
other  facts  the  acquirement  of  which  has  been 
considered  an  indispensible  part  of  an  education. 
Many  teachers  still  insist  that  the  " fundamental 
facts  of  geography"  can  be  acquired  only  through 
memory  drill. 

According  to  the  old  geography  still  widely 
taught,  facts  are  the  chief  aim.  The  pupils'  minds 
are  crammed  with  locations,  boundaries,  products, 
etc.     Whether   these   have   any   real   meaning  is 

5 


introduced  a  large  number  of  facts  in  the  light  of 
their  relationships,  thus  giving  the  pupils  a  real 
understanding  of  these  facts.  This  is  true  geo- 
graphy. It  appeals  to  the  pupils  as  something 
worth  their  best  efforts.  It  appeals  to  the  teacher 
because  of  the  increased  efficiency  of  her  pupils, 
produced  by  a  less  expenditure  of  mental  energy. 
The  principle  illustrated  in  the  above  problem  is 
applicable  to  the  whole  field  of  school  geography. 
Problems  can  be  introduced  which  bring  in  all  the 
different  physical  features  of  the  earth,  features 
which  the  children  have  ordinarily  been  asked  to 
memorize.  Through  problems  we  can  take  up 
cities,  industries,  products,  trade  and  various 
phases  of  life  conditions  in  different  lands. 

Notwithstanding  that  in  real  life  not  one  of  the 
thousands  of  facts  associated  with  the  above 
topics  exists  by  itself  free  from  the  influence  of 
others,  yet  we  have  for  years  filled  our  text-books 
with  column  after  column  of  bald  statements  of 
such  facts  with  little  attempt  to  get  at  their  relation 
to  each  other.  We  have  called  this  geography, 
little  realizing  until  recently  that  we  have  stopped 
with  the  shell  of  the  subject  and  never  reached  the 
meat  within.  Even  should  we  admit  the  asser- 
tion of  the  old-time  teacher  that  facts  constitute 
geography  and  that  there  is  a  certain  minimum 
number  of  them  which  we  should  have  in  our  minds 
subject  to  call,  then  we  say  that  the  problem 
or  thought  method  accomplishes  all  this  and  a 

8 


thousand  times  more  in  introducing  the  children 
to  a  real  conception  of  how  life  and  environment 
work  together  to  make  the  world  as  we  know  it. 

THE   RELATION   OF  THE   PROBLEM    METHOD   TO 
HOME  GEOGRAPHY 

The  successful  application  of  the  problem  method 
to  world  or  regional  geography  depends  upon 
previous  training  in  Home  Geography.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  value  of  home  geography  in  itself, 
the  subject  is  so  tremendously  important  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  geography  that  reasons  out  its 
conclusions  from  given  data  that  any  comprehen- 
sive discussion  of  the  problem  method  should 
show  the  part  that  home  geography  of  necessity 
plays  in  its  operation. 

We  cannot  expect  the  children  to  reason  out 
their  lessons  in  geography  without  first  giving  them 
some  basis  upon  which  to  work.  If  the  lesson  is 
upon  Spain  and  they  have  before  them  a  good 
physical  map,  they  cannot  come  to  any  independent 
conclusions  as  to  the  life  conditions  of  the  inhabit- 
ants and  how  these  are  in  large  part  determined  by 
elevation,  slope  of  the  land,  winds,  etc.  without 
first  having  gained  a  simple  understanding  of  the 
influence  of  similar  features  upon  the  lives  of  the 
people  in  the  region  in  which  they  live.  There  is  no 
place  in  our  country  where  the  environment  does 
not  have  more  or  less  influence  upon  the  distribu- 
tion, activities  and  general  life  conditions  of  the 

9 


inhabitants.  Children  who  have  never  been  out- 
side of  the  Mississippi  Valley  would  perhaps  have 
the  most  difficulty  in  reasoning  from  home  condi- 
tions to  those  of  Spain.  Pictures  are  always  avail- 
able, as  are  stories  of  travel  and  adventure.  The 
slight  relief  of  the  land  even  in  the  most  mountain- 
ous districts  will  also  afford  material  aid.  The 
differences  in  the  soil  and  vegetation  between  the 
uplands  and  the  stream  bottoms,  the  occurrence  of 
frosts,  the  winds,  the  location  of  the  towns,  the 
position  of  the  roads,  etc.  will  assist  the  child  who 
has  been  led  to  understand  their  meaning  in  gaining 
a  reasoned  knowledge  of  distant  lands.  Children 
living  in  or  near  mountainous  districts  will  of 
course  find  no  difficulty,  when  properly  directed, 
in  translating  a  knowledge  of  the  meaning  of  the 
local  environment  into  conclusions  as  to  the  climate 
and  life  conditions  of  similar  distant  lands  that 
they  are  studying. 

Take  for  example  the  following  problem:* 
"Why  is  the  rolling  upland  extending  along  the 
eastern  base  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  and 
known  as  the  Piedmont  region,  more  thickly 
settled  and  highly  cultivated  than  the  Coastal 
Plain  though  the  latter  is  more  easily  reached  by 
water  and  has  for  the.  most  part  a  fertile  soil"? 
In  almost  every  neighborhood  there  can  be  found 
geographical  relations  similar  to  the  following 
which   are   helpful   in   interpreting   the   problem. 

*  See  topical  Outlines  of  North  America,  Fairbanks. 
10 


The  soil  of  the  bottom  lands  along  the  streams  is 
deeper  and  richer  than  that  of  the  uplands,  but 
the  bottom  lands  have  the  disadvantage  of  being 
subject  to  floods.  In  places  they  are  marshy. 
The  presence  of  mosquitoes  makes  them  unhealth- 
ful.  The  natural  vegetation  is  dense  and  difficult 
to  clear  away.  If  the  streams  are  navigable  the 
bottom  lands  are,  however,  more  easy  to  reach 
than  the  uplands.  The  hill  lands  are  cooler  and 
healthier.  Vegetation  is  less  dense.  The  sur- 
roundings are  more  attractive.  The  streams  run 
more  swiftly  than  they  do  in  the  lower  valleys, 
and  afford  power  for  running  machinery.  Further 
studies  should  be  directed  toward  finding  out  the 
relative  depth  of  the  ocean  waters  along  the  coastal 
plain,  danger  of  floods  from  high  tides  in  connection 
with  river  floods,  whether  the  early  settlers  reached 
both  regions  from  the  land  side  or  from  the  ocean. 
The  children  can  get  other  help  from  their  history 
stories,  from  maps,  and  from  the  study  of  their 
home  environment. 

Another  problem*  illustrates  how  an  understand- 
ing of  the  mountain  and  plateau  environment  of 
our  country  aids  in  getting  a  real  understanding  of 
the  similar  regions  of  Persia.  "Why  do  so  many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Persia  lead  the  life  of  poor 
nomads  since  permanent  homes  are  so  much  more 
pleasant  and  free  from  dangers  and  hardships"? 
The  children  come  to  Persia  after  having  studied 

*  See  Topical  Outlines  of  Asia,  Fairbanks. 
11 


their  own  country  and  discovered  the  influence  of 
mountains,  plateaus  and  winds  upon  climate  and 
how  all  these  things  together  determine  the  occupa- 
tions and  manner  of  life  of  the  people.  This 
knowledge  of  the  home  geography  can  be  carried 
directly  over  to  Persia  and  used  as  an  aid  in  inter- 
preting life  there  since  the  region  of  the  western 
United  States  is  mostly  a  plateau  inclosed  by 
mountains. 

The  plateaus  of  the  western  United  States  are 
inclosed  by  mountains  which  cut  them  off  from 
the  influence  of  the  ocean  winds.  Hence  they 
have  a  light  rainfall  and  are  cold  in  winter  and  hot 
in  summer.  The  industry  to  which  the  region  is 
naturally  adapted,  aside  from  mining,  is  the  raising 
of  cattle  and  sheep.  The  map  shows  that  Persia 
is  a  little  farther  south  than  Nevada  and  ought  to 
be  warmer.  The  fact  that  Nevada  does  not  grow 
Persian  melons  and  grapes  is  further  evidence 
that  the  Persian  climate  must,  in  many  places  at 
least,  be  warmer.  In  Nevada  extensive  irrigation 
systems  are  making  it  possible  to  carry  on  farming. 
In  Persia  the  lack  of  rain  has  led  to  the  practice  of 
irrigation  from  time  immemorial,  but  since  the 
people  are  backward  their  irrigation  systems  are 
crude  and  insufficient  to  support  a  large  popula- 
tion. Since  the  rainfall  is  generally  too  light  for 
farming,  nearly  all  the  villages  and  cities  are  built 
near  the  permanent  streams. 

Just  as  in  the  case  of  Nevada,  the  inclosing 
12 


mountains  of  Persia  do  not  cut  off  all  the  rain. 
There  is  sufficient  for  a  sparse  growth  of  shrubs 
and  grasses.  Hence  over  the  greater  part  of 
Persia  where  there  is  little  or  no  water  for  irriga- 
tion stock  raising  is  the  chief  industry.  In  order 
to  find  feed  for  their  flocks,  these  people  who 
depend  upon  them  must  be  continually  moving 
from  one  place  to  another.  In  summer  they 
ascend  the  mountains  and  higher  plateaus,  just 
as  the  stockmen  do  in  our  own  Western  Country, 
and  in  winter  they  descend  to  the  valleys.  Since 
they  are  continually  moving  such  people  cannot 
build  permanent  homes  but  must  live  in  tents. 

Children  instinctively  want  to  know  the  reason 
for  things  being  as  they  are.  The  problem  intro- 
duces the  material  of  geography  in  such  a  way  as 
to  answer  that  longing  to  know  the  why  of  what 
they  come  in  contact  with,  whether  it  is  in  real 
life  or  in  a  geography  textbook.  The  problem 
method  not  only  harmonizes  with  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  New  Geography — is  in  fact  an 
expression  of  these  principles — but  it  completely 
accords  with  the  psychology  of  the  child  so  that 
its  use  is  sanctioned  by  the  best  pedagogy. 

The  simplest  form  of  the  problem,  and  the  one 
commonly  used,  is  a  question  of  such  form  that  it 
is  capable  of  being  expressed  by  the  word  why. 
The  simple  question  is,  however,  not  the  best  sort 
of  a  problem  but  the  easiest  for  the  teacher  to 
formulate.     To  put  a  problem  before  the  children 

13 


in  the  most  effective  way  we  should  word  it  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  make  its  solution  appear 
worth  while.  If  we  can  make  the  geography  so 
interesting  that  the  children  will  go  at  it  spontane- 
ously, we  shall  get  much  more  thorough  and  lasting 
results  than  if  they  are  driven  to  the  task.  The 
best  way  in  which  to  stimulate  interest  is  to  intro- 
duce an  antithesis  or  unexpected  contrast  into 
the  statement  of  the  problem,  This  is  by  no 
means  an  easy  thing  to  do,  but  when  the  ability 
has  once  been  acquired,  the  teacher  will  find  that 
the  quickened  response  from  the  children  is  worth 
all  the  effort. 

To  ask  "Why  did  the  Germans  go  through 
Belgium  to  attack  France "  is  the  simplest  as  well 
as  poorest  way  to  state  a  problem  in  geography 
relating  to  the  World  War.  There  is  nothing  in 
particular  about  the  question  to  arouse  interest  or 
curiosity.  But  to  say  "Why  did  not  the  Germans, 
since  their  country  adjoins  France,  take  the  direct 
route  into  the  latter  across  the  boundry  line 
instead  of  attempting  the  long  roundabout  way 
through  Belgium"  at  once  arouses  curiosity  on  the 
part  of  the  pupils  to  discover  the  reason  for  the 
unexpected  course  taken. 

The  question  "Why  has  Los  Angeles  become 
the  largest  city  in  Calif ornia"  has  nothing  about 
it  to  arouse  interest  on  the  part  of  those  not  person- 
ally familiar  with  its  environment.  But  put  in  the 
following  form  it  arouses  the  curiosity  at  once — 

14 


"  Why  has  Los  Angeles,  situated  in  a  region  of  light 
rainfall  some  miles  from  the  ocean  and  having 
at  first  sight  few  of  those  advantages  which  are 
usually  necessary  to  make  a  great  city,  become  the 
largest  city  of  Calif ornia?" 

If  we  apply  the  problem  method  to  such  topics 
as  the  relief  of  the  land,  climate,  winds,  ocean 
currents,  etc.,  which  are  usually  presented  in  the 
textbooks  in  chapters  by  themselves  as  so  many 
scientific  facts,  they  lose  their  cold,  lifeless  character ' 
because  their  direct  influence  upon  living  things 
is  brought  out.  The  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains, 
for  example,  form  a  very  important  physical 
feature  of  the  Western  United  States.  As  a 
fact  alone  this  has  no  particular  interest  for  the 
children.  But  as  soon  as  they  are  led  to  see  that 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  these  mountains  form  a  • 
very  serious  barrier  to  trade  and  travel,  and  aid  in 
making  a  desert  of  Nevada,  they  are  nevertheless 
so  necessary  to  the  development  of  the  Sacramento 
San  Joaquin  Valley  that  this  great  lowland  could 
never  become  rich  and  prosperous  without  them, 
the  study  of  these  mountains  becomes  very 
attractive. 

In  the  case  of  the  winds  and  currents  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  problems  can  be  introduced  the 
solution  of  which  will  bring  out  their  influence 
upon  early  navigation  and  the  discovery  and 
settlement  of  the  American  continents.  The  Gulf 
Stream,    the    Labrador    Current,    fogs,    westerly 

15 


wind  belts,  trade  winds,  etc.  can  thus  be  vitalized. 
Examples  of  various  sorts  of  problems  might  be 
added  to  indefinitely.  In  many  cases  the  short 
simple  form  of  a  problem  is  necessary  to  save  time. 
In  other  cases  problems  cannot  readily  be  put  in 
any  other  form  than  a  simple  question.  In  all 
cases,  however,  the  purpose  must  be  to  provoke 
thought  rather  than  to  lead  to  mere  memorizing. 

.  HISTORY  AS  A  MOTIVE  IN  THE  PROBLEM  METHOD 

The  motive  from  history  can  be  used  to  great 
advantage  in  the  problem  method.  In  the  study 
of  North  America  the  experiences  of  the  early 
explorers  and  settlers  particularly  can  be  used 
to  vitalize  its  basal  geographic  relations.  It  will 
be  readily  appreciated. that  even  if  a  large  amount 
of  history  is  introduced  into  the  problems  it  is 
used,  not  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  history,  but 
with  the  object  of  making  the  geography  more 
alive.  It  increases  very  greatly  the  interests  of 
the  children  in  the  physical  features  of  the  con- 
tinent to  have  their  attention  directed  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  environment  influenced  the  lives 
of  both  the  pioneers  and  their  descendants.  Take 
for  example  this  problem:*  "Had  the  ocean 
currents  any  influence  upon  the  settlement  of 
North  America  ?"  The  ocean  currents  are  taken 
up  not  as  a  physical  feature  of  great  bodies  of 

*  See  Topical  Outlines  of  North  America,  Fairbanks, 
p.  10. 

16 


water,  but  as  helping  or  hindering  the  voyages  of 
the  early  discoverers.  Handled  in  this  manner  the 
study  of  ocean  currents  takes  on  a  new  significance 
in  the  minds  of  the  children.  Or  this  problem:* 
"What  difficulties  did  the  settlers  encounter  when 
they  tried  to  push  inland?"  Here  we  have  a 
question  concerning  the  nature  of  the  country 
extending  inland  from  the  New  England  coast. 
The  physical  obstacles  encountered  affected  the 
lives  of  the  pioneers,  and  so  with  the  motive  of 
their  experiences  we  vitalize  the  climate,  relief, 
streams,  soil,  etc. 

One  might  ask,  -why  not  let  history  alone  and 
study  the  influence  of  the  environment  upon  the 
people  living  in  the  region  today.  The  answer 
might  well  be  that  the  present  is  often  better 
understood  in  the  light  of  the  past,  while  in  the 
case  of  young  pupils  the  lives  of  explorers  and 
settlers  in  a  new  land  are  more  attractive  than  the 
seemingly  commonplace  relations  of  the  present. 

Throughout  the  study  the  historical  develop- 
ment of  people'  in  different  lands  should  be  made 
use  of  wherever  it  will  add  life  and  interest  to  the 
geography.  We  must  remember  that  school  geo- 
graphy fulfills  best  the  purpose  for  which  it  is 
taught  when  attention  is  focussed  upon  the  human 
side  of  the  subject  because  the  interests  of  the 
children    lie  in  that  direction.     But  at  the  same 

*  See  Topical  Outlines  of  North  America,  Fairbanks, 
p.  26.    ' 

17 


time  the  physical  side  must  not  be  neglected 
because  in  it  lies  the  explanation  of  a  large  part  of 
the  life  conditions  which  geography  seeks  to  under- 
stand. The  present  life  conditions  are  so  much 
more  understandable  as  well  as  interesting  if  we 
learn  how  they  came  about  that  the  use  of  history 
is  abundantly  justified. 

The  advantages  resulting  from  using  problems 
from  history  in  developing  an  understanding  of 
the  geography  of  a  region  shows  how  intimately 
certain  aspects  of  the  two  subjects  are  related. 
In  developing  the  geography  motive  from  history 
the  teacher  should,  however,  be  on  guard  lest  the 
history  aspect  replace  the  geography  in  the  centre 
of  attention. 

THE  PART  PLAYED  BY  MAPS  IN  THE  PROBLEM 
METHOD 

In  no  respect  is  the  change  in  geographical 
methods  and  ideals  more  marked  than  in  the  esti- 
mate placed  upon  maps  and  map  study.  The  new 
Thought  Geography  is  absolutely  dependent  for  its 
successful  application  in  the  school  room  upon  good 
physical  maps.  The  trouble  at  present  is  that 
there  is  a  lack  of  large  clear  physical  maps  in  the 
school  geographies.  The  situation  is  not  so  bad 
as  regards  physical  wall  maps  since  several  pub- 
lishers issue  excellent  ones,  but  few  schools  are  as 
yet  supplied  with  anything  but  political  maps. 

The  children  should  have  access  either  in  their 
18 


geography  textbooks  or  in  an  Atlas  to  physical 
maps  which  are  large  and  clear  enough  to  give 
them  fairly  correct  and  detailed  notions  of  the  • 
different  regions  studied.  In  the  problem  method 
we  ask  the  children  to  reason  from  the  physical 
map  of  the  local  region  where  they  can  observe 
more  or  less  fully  the  effect  of  prevailing  winds, 
slope  of  the  land,  and  elevation  upon  the  life  of 
the  inhabitants  to  similar  effects  of  winds,  slopes 
and  elevation  upon  the  people  of  distant  lands. 
The  children  cannot  reason  out  correct  conclusions 
about  distant  lands  by  means  of  the  thought 
method  unless  the  representations  of  these  lands 
expressed  in  the  form  of  maps  give  them  the 
necessary  basis.  To  be  able  to  see  in  a  physical 
map  of  a  distant  land  the  surface  and  other  fea- 
tures for  which  it  stands,  the  pupils  should  first 
be  thoroughly  drilled  in  interpreting  the  physical 
map  of  the  region  about  the  home. 

How  dependent  we  are  upon  the  physical  map 
is  shown  in  the  case  of  the  following  problem:* 
"How  can  we  account  for  the  fact  that  France 
has  a  mild  moist  climate  while  the  interior  of  Spain 
is  dry  and  exhibits  great  extremes  of  temperature. 
From  previous  studies  of  North  America  it  has 
been  learned  that  the  prevailing  wind  in  the  tem- 
perate zone  is  westerly.  The  study  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  showed  that  these  westerly  winds  off  the 
ocean  bring  rains  and  that  these  rains  reach  far 

*  See  Topical  Outlines  of  Europe,  Fairbanks,  p.  75. 
19 


inland  unless  there  are  mountains  lying  in  the 
way  that  cut  them  off.  The  lands  exposed  to  the 
ocean  winds  were  found  to  have  a  mild  even- 
tempered  climate  while  the  highlands  lying  back 
of  the  mountains,  as  for  example  those  of  Nevada, 
not  only  receive  little  rain  but  are  cold  in  winter 
and  hot  in  summer.  Except  where  irrigation  can 
be  developed  or  there  are  minerals  which  can  be 
mined,  Nevada  is,  therefore,  not  suited  to  farming 
but  is  suited  to  raising  cattle  and  sheep.  For  this 
reason  the  population  as  a  whole  must  be  small  and 
scattered. 

Since  the  region  concerned  in  the  problem  lies 
in  about  the  same  north  latitude  as  the  United 
States  it  must  be  subject  to  westerly  winds  which 
bring  rain  off  the  Atlantic  Ocean  as  our  winds 
bring  rain  from  the  Pacific.  The  map  shows  us 
that  all  the  high  mountains  of  France  lie  in  its 
eastern  part,  and  that  the  western  part  is  low  and 
open  to  the  Atlantic.  The  whole  of  France 
should,  then,  be  well  watered  and  the  lowlands 
near  the  ocean  possess  a  mild  and  even  tempered 
climate  such  as  our  Pacific  lowlands  have.  Agri- 
culture should  be  the  leading  occupation  and  the 
farming  population  dense  and  prosperous. 

Turning  now  to  Spain  we  conclude  from  an 
examination  of  the  physical  map  that  life  condi- 
tions must  be  very  different  from  those  of  France. 
The  mountains  which  he  all  about  the  borders  of 
Spain  interfere   with  the  sweep  of  the  westerly 

20 


winds.  The  interior  is  high  like  that  of  Nevada. 
We  should,  therefore,  expect  the  climate  of  these 
highlands  to  be  dry,  the  winters  cold  and  the  sum- 
mers hot.  We  conclude,  then,  that  the  plateau  of 
Spain  is  sparsely  settled  except  where  there  is 
water  for  irrigation  and  that  in  most  parts  stock 
raising  is  the  leading  industry.  Furthermore, 
the  Spaniards  as  we  know  them  do  not  make  as 
good  farmers  as  Americans  so  that  we  should 
expect  them  to  be  poor  and  not  have  as  comfort- 
able homes  as  our  farmers  or  as  those  of  France. 
From  the  above  brief  analysis  it  can  be  seen  how 
much  can  be  learned  about  a  foreign  country 
merely  with  the  aid  of  a  good  physical  map  and  a 
knowledge  of  home  geography. 

Other  problems,  such  as  the  following,  must  also 
be  answered  from  the  physical  map.  "How  has 
the  surface  of  France  favored  Paris  becoming  the 
capital  and  largest  city?"  "At  what  points  on 
the  western  coast  of  France  should  we  look  for 
important  seaports?"  But  in  the  case  of  the 
problem  "Why  did  not  the  largest  Mediterranean 
city  of  France  grow  up  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone 
River"  the  answer  must  be  obtained  partly  from 
the  map  and  partly  from  collateral  reading. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  problems  with  the 
solution  of  which  the  map  is  not  directly  concerned, 
but  for  thought  geography  in  general,  physical 
maps  are  so  important  that  no  effort  or  cost  should 
be  spared  in  supplying  the  pupils  with  the  very 

21 


best  obtainable.  The  political  map  has  its  value 
fori  certain  purposes,  but  for  the  New  Geography 
mere  location  of  boundaries,  cities  and  other  cul- 
tural features  upon  so-called  political  maps  which 
show  the  relief  of  the  land  so  faintly  as  not  to 
reveal  to  the  children  the  reasons  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  such  features,  possesses  much  less  value 
than  they  do  for  the  old-time  memory  geography. 
There  are  many  other  maps  besides  the  physical 
which  are  invaluable  aids  in  teaching  the  thought 
geography.  Among  these  are  rainfall  maps,  forest 
maps,  temperature  maps,  agricultural  maps,  racial 
maps,  etc.  The  common  outline  product  maps, 
with  which  the  standard  textbooks  are  filled, 
possess  value  of  a  certan  sort  for  the  advanced 
student  and  statistician  but  for  the  thought  geo- 
graphy of  the  elementary  school  they  are  almost 
worthless  since  they  contain  no  indication  of  the 
causes  which  make  the  distribution  of  the  products 
what  it  is. 


22 


THE  TOPICAL  OUTLINES  OF 
GEOGRAPHY— FAIRBANKS 


The  purpose  of  the  Outlines  is  to  supply  a  brief 
hand-book  covering  the  whole  field  of  elementary 
geography  from  the  thought  or  problem  point  of 
view.  While  the  Outlines  are  strictly  what  their 
name  indicates,  yet  they  include  with  the  exception 
of  Home  Geography,  such  a  wealth  of  detail  illus- 
trating every  important  phase  of  the  subject  as  to 
make  it  possible  to  use  them  as  a  basis  for  the 
entire  course. 

The  Outlines  show  further  how  completely  the 
new  thought  geography  can  dispense  with  the 
memorizing  of  facts  through  the  use  of  these  facts 
in  problems  requiring  thought  and  investigation 
for  their  solution.  The  value  of  problems  in 
developing  a  "real  knowledge  of  the  relationship 
between  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants,  and  thus 
incidentally  taking  care  of  facts  instead  of  making 
them  the  aim,  fits  this  method  to  be  the  exponent 
of  the  New  Geography  the  aim  of  which  is  an 
understanding  of  the  world  as  a  living  organism. 

THE  PLAN  OF  THE  TOPICAL  OUTLINES 

The  Outlines  are  suited  for  use  either  as  a  supple- 
ment to  some  standard  text-book  or  as  substitute 

23 


for  such  text  in  classes  provided  with  physical 
maps  and  supplmentary  reference  books. 

The  course  is  a  progressive  one,  taking  up  each 
region  or  country  but  once.  Cross  questions  and 
comparative  studies  keep  the  salient  ideas  of  the 
ground  previously  covered,  fresh  in  the  mind. 
The  effort  is  directed  toward  fixing  an  understand- 
ing of  facts  rather  than  the  facts  themselves. 
Though  the  individual  facts  may  later  fade  from 
the  memory  yet  the  ability  to  interpret  facts  from 
geographic  point  of  view  whenever  and  wherever 
they  are  met  will  remain. 

The  work  of  the  Outlines  is  offered  under  the 
following  heads:  Map  Studies,  Problems,  Subjects 
for  Oral  and  Written  Reports  and  Reviews.  For 
the  most  part  the  continents  are  taken  up  first 
from  the  point  of  view  of  their  natural  regions.  In 
the  cases  of  Africa  and  parts  of  Asia  political 
boundaries  are  of  little  aid  in  getting  a  knowledge  of 
the  geography  and  are  not  emphasized.  No  fixed 
plan  is  followed  through  all  the  continents  other 
than  that  of  presenting  the  matter  in  such  form 
as  to  get  the  children  to  think.  Hence  the  treat- 
ment of  each  continent  differs  in  some  respects 
from  that  of  the  others.  A  striking  feature,  and 
one  which  should  appeal  to  teachers,  is  the  topical 
summary  at  the  head  of  each  natural  region  or 
country.  Each  summary  embodies  in  terse  lan- 
guage the  striking  and  important  characteristics  of 
the  area  the  study  of  which  immediately  follows. 

24 


The  handling  of  the  Map  Studies  requires  little 
help  and  explanation.  Nearly  all  the  questions 
and  problems  under  this  head  can  be  answered  with 
the  help  of  a  good  physical  map.  The  teacher 
can  either  go  over  the  map  questions  with  the  class 
or  the  pupils  having  been  asked  to  work  them  out 
beforehand  they  may  be  taken  up  in  recitation. 
This  work  should  be  carried  on  with  open  books 
and  before  a  wall  map,  the  constant  effort  being  to 
develop  thought  rather  than  memory.  The  pupils 
should  be  taught  to  draw  conclusions  from  answers 
to  the  map  questions  whenever  this  is  possible. 
For  example:  "How  does  the  coast  line  of  the 
Southern  States  differ  from  that  of  New  England?  " 
Important  consequences  for  the  people  of  the 
region  result  from  the  nature  of  the  coast.  What 
are  they? 

Some  of  the  map  questions  as  in  the  following 
cases  are  thought  questions  or  problems.  "Why 
ought  the  whole  of  the  interior  of  France  to  receive 
heavy  rains?"  Compare  with  Spain.  "Why  is 
there  no  great  river  system  in  Asia  similar  to  those 
in  North  America,  South  America  and  Africa?" 

HOW  TO  USE  THE  PROBLEMS  IN  THE  TOPICAL 
OUTLINES 

It  will  be  observed  upon  looking  over  the 
problems  that  there  are  many  kinds.  Some  of 
which  fulfill  our  definition  of  good  problems  while 
others  are  simple  questions.     All,  however,  call  for, 

25 


thought  responses  on  the  part  of  the  pupils.  It 
may  be  first  appear  strange  that  the  facts  which 
under  the  old  geography  the  children  were  expected 
to  memorize  and  recite  upon  with  their  books 
closed,  are  in  the  Outlines  stated  outright,  being 
used  as  the  data  of  the  problems.  This  results 
from  the  shifting  of  emphasis  from  the  fact  to  the 
cause  of  the  fact  and  can  be  expressed  by  the  word 
why.  This  is  the  most  characteristic  feature  of 
the  New  Geography.  In  the  problem  "How  can 
we  account  for  the  salt-water  lakes  upon  the 
borders  of  the  Mississippi  delta"  it  will  be  noted 
that  the  fact  is  stated  and  the  cause  asked  for. 

Many  of  the  problems  are  analyzed  and  answered 
in  skeleton  form,  but  it  will  be  noticed  that  in 
most  cases  the  answer  given  is  suggestive  for 
further  thought  and  consideration.  Most  of  the 
" Special  Problems' '  are  left  unanswered  for  the 
purpose  of  testing  the  pupil's  comprehension  of 
the  subject. 

Two  queries  might  be  raised  regarding  the 
manner  of  handling  the  problems  throughout  the 
Outlines.  The  first  is  that  since  the  many  of 
the  problems  are  answered  in  skeleton  form  will  not 
the  pupils  be  able  to  get  the  larger  part  of  their 
lessons  by  merely  memorizing  these  answers? 
The  second  has  to  do  with  the  unanswered  problems. 
Will  not  the  pupils  find  many  of  the  latter  very 
difficult  or  even  impossible  to  answer?  In  pre- 
paring the  Outlines  the  author  had  in  mind  the 

26 


needs  of  both  teachers  and  pupils.  It  is  obvious 
that  no  set  of  unanswered  problems  would  at 
present  be  accepted  by  the  teachers  owing  to  the 
newness  of  the  method.  On  the  other  hand  if  all 
the  problems  were  answered  it  might  appear  that 
the  pupils  had  their  thinking  all  done  for  them  and 
only  had  to  memorize  the  results. 

Enough  of  the  problems  have  been  answered  in 
skeleton  form  to  give  an  idea  of  the  basis  method  to 
be  followed.  The  unanswered  problems  should 
be  worked  out  in  a  similar  manner.  The  teacher 
who  would  like  to  avoid  giving  any  work  that 
could  be  memorized  might  neglect  the  answered 
problems  and  substitute  others  bearing  upon  the 
same  topics.  As  will  be  seen  later  the  answered 
problems  can  be  handled  without  permitting  the 
pupils  to  memorize  them  but  in  any  case  the  teacher 
should  not  ask  for  or  accept  work  which  appear  to 
have  taken  directly  and  entirely  from  the  text. 

If  the  Outlines  contained  all  the  possible  problems 
on  a  given  region  it  might  seem  that  the  plan 
followed  was  seriously  defective.  It  is,  however,  a 
cardinal  principle  of  the  New  Problem  Geography 
that  it  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of  just  what  is 
acquired  as  it  is  the  habit  of  thought  developed. 
Besides  this  the  very  nature  of  the  problem  method 
gives  opportunity  for  a  choice  of  several  different 
lines  of  approach  to  a  given  topic.  If  one  line  of 
approach  proves  too  difficult  or  fails  to  arouse 
interest    the    teacher    can    choose    another.     The 

27 


thing  that  we  are  after  is  an  understanding  of  the 
subject  and  it  makes  little  difference  just  what 
route  we  take  to  get  there.  Any  particular 
problem  in  the  Outlines  is  one  of  many  different 
ones  which  could  be  proposed  to  deal  with  the  topic 
in  hand.  If  the  teacher  wishes  to  use  any  parti- 
cular answered  problem  given  in  the  Outlines  the 
children  should  be  asked  to  verify  the  answers, 
enlarge  upon  them,  draw  conclusions  and  conse- 
quences from  them,  etc. 

Take,  for  example,  the  comprehensive  problem 
introducing  the  study  of  the  British  Isles,  Europe, 
page  34.  The  particular  sub-problems  under 
which  different  aspects  of  the  main  problem  are 
studied  are  not  the  only  ones  which  could  be  given. 
Many  might  be  omitted  and  yet  the  desired  end 
be  attained  by  approaching  them  from  other 
points  of  view.  When  the  pupils  are  through  with 
the  British  Isles  the  New  Geography  does  not 
expect  their  minds  to  be  crammed  with  a  great 
array  of  facts  but  it  does  expect  that  they  under- 
stand the  relation  existing  between  the  people  and 
their  environment,  why  their  life  conditions  are  as 
they  are  and  why  certain  industries  are  carried 
on  to  the  neglect  of  others.  When  statistical 
facts  are  wanted  the  pupils  should  be  so  trained 
as  to  be  able  to  get  them  from  an  Atlas  or 
encyclopedia. 

We  might  state  the  general  problem  of  the  British 
Isles  in  a  variety  of  ways  such  as  the  following: — 

28 


Why  is  it  that  the  people  of  the  British  Isles,  the 
surface  and  climate  of  which  are  favorable  to 
farming,  did  not  at  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War 
raise  more  than  one  third  of  their  food  supplies 
but  permit  a  great  part  of  their  fertile  lands  to 
lie  idle  or  be  given  over  to  pasturage?  Why  is  it 
that  the  people  of  the  British  Isles  have  neglected 
farming  and  turned  to  manufacturing  and  trade, 
since  being  surrounded  by  water  an  enemy  might 
cut  off  their  food  supplies?  What  conditions  have 
made  the  people  of  the  British  Isles  the  greatest 
manufacturers  and  sea  traders  in  the  world? 

Problems  in  which  the  resources  or  industries  of 
two  countries  are  compared  offer  marked  incentives 
for  their  study,  as  in  the  following  (Outlines  of 
Europe,  page  47).  "  Why  would  Spain,  although  a 
part  of  continental  Europe,  suffer  almost  as  much 
as  Great  Britain  if  cut  off  from  communication  by 
sea?"  What  is  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that 
stock  raising  is  important  in  Spain  because  the 
climate  in  most  parts  is  too  dry  for  farming  while 
in  the  British  Isles  it  is  important  because  the 
climate  is  wet?"  In  the  first  problem  there  is 
stated  a  similarity  between  the  two  countries  in 
case  of  war  although  they  are  very  differently 
situated.  In  the  second  the  same  industry  is 
favored  by  entirely  different  climates.  Both  prob- 
lems tend  to  arouse  the  curiosity  and  afford  an 
incentive  for  working  out  the  geography. 

To  illustrate  again  how  an  answered  problem 
.     29 


can  be  handled  let  us  take  one  from  New  England 
(Outlines  of  North  America,  page  25).  "  What  are 
the  particular  dangers  of  navigation  along  the 
New  England  coast?"  This  problem  might  be 
put  in  a  more  attractive  form  as  follows: — Why 
is  it  that  the  New  England  coast  is  such  a  danger- 
ous one  in  spite  of  the  deep  water  and  the  many 
protected  bays?  Each  of  the  three  parts  of  the 
answer  given  in  the  Outlines  should  be  investigated 
by  the  pupils  and  not  taken  for  granted.  A  good 
physical  map  will  help  in  understanding  the  first 
part.  In  the  second  the  reason  for  the  fogs  should 
be  discovered.  In  the  third  the  pupils  should 
find  out  what  influence,  if  any  the  long  narrow  bays 
of  the  New  England  coast  have  upon  tidal  currents. 
It  is  self  evident  that  those  problems  which  are 
not  answered  require  thought  and  investigation 
on  the  part  of  the  pupils.  If  they  cannot  find 
any  material  bearing  directly  upon  a  given  topic 
the  teacher  can  often  lead  them  to  the  conclusion 
sought  by  means  of  a  number  of  indirect  but 
skilfully  planned  questions.  The  following  prob- 
lem will  illustrate  the  procedure: — "Why  is  it 
that  the  little  country  of  Palestine  much  of  which 
is  poorly  watered  and  not  particularly  attractive 
contains  people  of  many  different  races,  such  as 
Jews,  Arabs,  Turks,  Syrians,  Armenians,  etc.?" 
It  is  not  likely  the  children  will  be  able  to  get  much 
help  from  their  geographies  in  solving  this  problem. 
We   will   assume   that   they   have   had   practical 

30 


training  in  home  geography  and  through  their 
history  stories  have  gained  some  ideas  of  the  people 
of  ancient  Greece,  Egypt,  Palestine  and  Mesopo- 
tamia, and  finally  that  they  have  before  them  a 
good  physical  map  of  Western  Asia  and  the  Eastern 
Mediterranean  region.  The  teacher  should  lead 
in  a  discussion  of  the  climate  of  Syria,  Palestine 
and  Arabia  and  how  the  lack  of  rain  has  affected 
the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people.  The 
influence  which  the  great  desert  of  Arabia,  lying 
to  the  eastward  of  Palestine,  must  have  had  upon 
lines  of  trade  and  travel  between  Egypt,  Greece 
Persia  and  India  should  be  discussed.  From  this 
it  will  appear  that  Palestine  occupied  the  position 
of  a  great  highway  over  which  armies  marched 
and  traders  passed  for  thousands  of  years.  Many 
of  these  people  for  one  reason  or  another  stopped 
in  Palestine  and  made  their  homes  there  and 
thus  we  find  there  to-day  a  remarkable  mixture 
of  races. 

To  illustrate  further  how  a  problem  with  answers 
given  can  be  handled  we  will  take  one  from  South 
America  (page  186).  "  Where  do  we  find  most 
of  the  people  of  the  Amazon  Basin"?  There  are 
three  parts  to  the  answer  and  the  teacher  at  first 
thought  may  say;  "This  is  merely  memory  work. " 
But  apply  the  word  wfyy  to  each  of  these  answers 
and  it  becomes  at  once  a  problem  requiring  investi- 
gation for  its  solution.  The  fact  that  most  of  the 
people  of  the  Amazon  Basin  live  in  three  distinct 

31 


regions  of  the  Amazon  Basin  is  not  an  important 
fact  from  'the  point  of  view  of  real  geography. 
The  important  thing  to  be  found  out  is  why  are 
they  thus  distributed.  There  must  be  reasons 
for  the  grouping  of  people  as  we  find  them  and  in 
discovering  this  reason  the  pupils  acquire  a  com- 
prehensive notion  of  the  life  conditions  existing 
there. 

Throughout  the  Outlines  there  are  many  appar- 
ently simple  questions  which  are  answered  analytic- 
ally. In  most  instances  these  answers  can  be  used 
as  topics  for  investigation  on  the  part  of  the  pupils. 
The  pupils  should  never  be  allowed  to  give  answers 
to  the  problems  in  the  form  of  fact  statements  with- 
out giving  reasons  for  the  fact  or  .phenomenon. 
The  presence  of  many  fact  statements  in  the  Out- 
lines must  not  be  understood  as  a  sanction  for  fact 
statements  or  memory  answers  on  the  part  of  the 
pupils.  The  Outlines  cover  the  whole  field  of  region- 
al geography  and  by  virtue  of  their  make-up  must 
be  very  brief.  The  form  in  which  mere  fact  answers 
appear  does  not  constitute  real  geography.  They 
are  but  the  Taw  materials  out  of  which  the  pupils 
with  the  help  of  maps  and  supplemental  books  must 
develop  geographical  relations  and  conclusions.  As 
for  example  take  a  problem  from  Africa  (page  207). 
"How  is  it  that  the  Nile  made  possible  the  wonder- 
ful development  of  ancient  Egypt?"  We  might 
say  in  answer  that  it  is  because  of  the  conditions 
enumerated  in  the  answers  that  follow  under  the 

32 


five  headings.  The  teacher  should  continually 
attempt  to  impress  upon  the  pupils  the  idea  that 
real  geography  consists  in  discovering  the  relation- 
ship between  the  question  and  the  answer. 

We  must  not  forget  the  real  significance  of 
the  problem  method.  It  does  not  free  us  from  the 
necessity  of  dealing  with  facts,  such  as  fill  the 
old  geographies,  because  facts  form  the  basis  of 
knowledge.  But  the  problem  method  does  free 
us  from  memorizing  facts  since  the  aim  of  the  New 
Geography  is  something  wholly  different.  Let  us 
take  an  example  from  the  discussion  of  the  Colom- 
bian Andes  (Outlines  of  South  America,  page  173). 
A  number  of  questions  are  asked  and  followed  by 
statements  of  facts.  The  children  should  not  be 
asked  to  memorize  the  four  climatic  belts  of  the 
Andean  slopes,  although  through  the  use  of  these 
climatic  belts  in  various  problems  it  is  likely  that 
they  will  become  temporarily  fixed  in  their  minds. 
They  should  not  memorize  the  occupations  and 
products  of  the  different  slopes  for  these  as  mere 
facts  have  little  value  for  them.  They  should, 
however,  use  the  data  given  as  a  foundation  for 
working  out  the  reasons  why  the  life  conditions  are 
seen  to  change  as  we  go  from  the  sea  level  to  the 
summits  of  the  high  peaks.  The  teacher  should 
not  attempt  to  explain  why  it  grows  cooler  with 
increasing  elevation  although  the  children  should 
actually  know  that  it  does  from  previous  studies 
in    home    geography.     The    use    of    the   facts    in 

33 


working  out  how  the  people  of  the  Andes  live  and 
why  they  grow  different  products  at  different 
elevations  is  more  likely  to  fix  these  facts  in  the 
minds  of  the  pupils  than  are  the  old-time  memory 
exercises  where  no  attention,  is  paid  to  whether 
they  understand  what  the  facts  mean.  In  addition 
the  development  of  the  causal  idea  gives  a  real 
understanding  of  the  region. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  above  discussion  has  shown 
the  simplicity  of  the  problem  method  and  the 
great  advantage  which  it  offers  over  every  other 
for  the  teaching  of  real  geography. 

The  author  maintains  that  school  geography 
can  be  taught  more  rationally  and  more  efficiently 
by  abandoning  entirely  the  memorizing  of  facts, 
and  that  the  old  idea  that  facts  in  themselves  pos- 
sess value  is  wrong.  It  is  only  as  we  understand 
the  meaning  of  facts  that  we  become  educated. 
It  is  the  object  of  the  problem  method  to  give  this 
understanding. 

If  the  teacher  understands  the  basis  of  the 
problem  method  the  Outlines  of  the  Continents 
will  not  be  difficult  to  handle.  There  is  sufficient 
material  in  these  little  books  if  properly  used  to 
form  a  complete  course  in  elementary  school 
geography  and  to  develop  students  having  a 
practical  and  sympathetic  understanding  of  the 
world  in  which  they  live. 


34 


